


Baseball

by disaster_by_chance



Series: Stony Oneshots [2]
Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Steve Rogers is the baseball captain, Tony Stark is a supportive boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22081624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disaster_by_chance/pseuds/disaster_by_chance
Summary: Steve is Shield University's baseball Captain. They're about to have the last match of the season against their rival school, Hydra University. And fortunately, Steve's got a supportive boyfriend.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor, Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: Stony Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589476
Kudos: 20





	Baseball

"You ready to play ball, Rogers?" Sam asked, patting the team Captain on the shoulder as the team and others laid out on the college lawn in front of the gym. 

It was the day before the last baseball game of the season and the team had decided to just take the day easy and hang out with a couple of other friends. Steve was laying down in the grass, his boyfriend, Tony, wrapped up in his arms and texting away on his phone. Sam was lying next to Steve, his legs propped up on Bucky's lap as he sat, getting his hair braided by Natasha. Leaning against Natasha was Carol, her boyfriend, Rhodey, laid his head in her lap. The group was also joined by Thor, his boyfriend Bruce, and brother, Loki. Scott Lang was laying down, hands behind his head, chatting away with Clint as Hope talked with Wanda who was holding hands with her boyfriend. It was nice.

"Course I am." Steve replied with a grin, "We're going to kick Hydra's asses tomorrow." 

Sam grinned and nodded, "Hell yeah we are."

"That is if this choice to take a break from practice doesn't screw us over," Bucky spoke up, looking over to his teammates. "I'm pretty sure Hydra is practicing right now."

"Oh please," Steve rolled his eyes, "I know you'd rather take a break from training so much."

"Yeah, Buck. Don't make Steve make us have to run laps." Sam said, throwing a fist full of grass at Bucky. The grass didn't go far, getting all over his shirt. The boy sighed and wiped the grass off, glaring at Sam,

"I'm just saying. I don't actually want to be practicing anyways."

"So be grateful," Steve said with a smug smirk, turning his head back up to the sky.

Bucky muttered something and received some lecturing from his girlfriend, Natasha, in Russian, making Sam snort, despite having no idea what she was saying.

Steve smiled softly and turned his head to look down at his boyfriend. Tony was still texting away, curled into Steve's chest, his rectangular glasses slipping down his nose. Steve pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his head,  
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, noticing how tense he seemed from how fast he was typing.

"M' fine.." He muttered in response, not reacting at all to Steve's concern or kiss. He kept his focus on whoever he was texting like it was the only thing in the world.

Stage frowned a bit and sighed, more or less used to this kind of treatment from his handful of a boyfriend, "Are you coming to the game tomorrow?" He asked, there was no use in trying to figure out what was wrong with him at the moment so he tried something else.

"I don't know," Tony sighed, turning off his phone and putting it in his/Steve's hoodie pocket. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before putting them back on. "There's something going on with the company and I just have to deal with it now or my dad is going to beat my ass..." He grumbled.

Steve's heart sank because usually Tony came to his games and was really supportive. However, he understood that sometimes the boy needed to take time for his father's company, to keep the asshole of a father happy. Not wanting to ruin the relaxing moment by going off on why a father shouldn't act the way Tony's did, Steve just pulled Tony closer so that he was laying on his chest. 

"I'm sorry Stevie." Tony murmured, leaning up to kiss his jaw, "I know it's a big game, the last one, and-"

Steve shook his head, an arm around Tony, "No, it's ok. Don't worry about it, Tones. You've already have been to enough games." He tried to make the boy feel better about it, knowing he'd beat himself up over it for weeks. "The company is more important."

"S' really not.." Tony sighed, listening to the beat of Steve's heart. "But if you really insist that it's okay..."

"I do," Steve assured with a small smile. He sighed when Tony didn't say anything and did his best to push aside the sinking feeling in his chest. Instead, he focused on all his friends around him and the good boyfriend on his chest. 

Sure Tony wasn't the best, but neither was Steve. They were both rather busy with their own things and rarely had time together. In fact, Steve was surprised that they haven't called a break or something along the times of that. The fact that Tony was even able to hang out with them at the moment was a miracle within itself. So instead of worrying about a potential break up in the future, Steve directed his attention to the blue sky overhead. Hopefully, it would be like this tomorrow for the game. 

"I'm sorry." Tony said, getting up, his phone in his hand again, "I-I have to go." He sighed and pushed his hair back, sending a text and putting the phone away again. 

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look up at him in confusion and disappointment. Steve sat up, propping himself up by his elbows, he looked at Tony and frowned, "So soon?"

He sighed and nodded, "Y-yeah, I need to go and fix something up. I-i'm sorry..." His voice was quiet as he avoided everyone's gaze. 

"Don't be, Tones," Rhodey assured with a small sigh, "You even staying for lunch and the few minutes now was enough." He gave his best friend an encouraging smile.

Tony bit the insides of his cheeks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "O-okay, thanks." He looked around at the others, shifting awkwardly and nervously in place, "Well, I'll see you around." He turned to all the baseball players, "Good luck with your game."

"Thanks, man," Sam nodded, frowning a bit. He glanced at Steve who looked rather upset. The blond nodded and got up, 

"You sure you don't need me to go with you?" He asked Tony, putting a hand on his shoulder, "To help out or something...?"

Tony smiled a little bit and shook his head, "Naw, it's fine Cap. I-i've got it." He leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "Thanks though." He gave everyone a wave and started off. 

Steve frowned at his response and the cheek kiss. He grabbed Tony's arm gently and pulled him back, "You're not getting away that easily with just that." He pulled him into a passionate kiss, causing the others to gag, aw, or look away. 

Tony hummed happily, his face going red as he closed his eyes and kissed him back. He pulled away before things could progress from there, really needing to get to where he needed to be.

"I love you." Steve said when Tony pulled away. He gently cupped his face and gave hin a quick kiss to further prove his Point.

Tony blushed profoundly, grinning widely. He started walking backwards, "I know." He blew Steve kisses before turning and walking away from the group.

"You two are disgustingly adorable." Carol sighed, shaking her head while grinning.

"I think they're cute," Scott grinned, resting his head on both his hands.

Even with the comments and Tony blowing kisses, Steve frowned, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair and pouted a little bit.

"Oh, I know that look.." Bucky muttered, looking at Steve, "Whatever it is, no."

Steve looked at Bucky and glared just a little at him as he sat back down, "I'm just worried about him. What if something happens and we no longer work out or something?" He frowned and pulled out grass in his nervousness.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "No longer work out?" She repeated, "Excuse you, Steve Rogers, but you and Stark are the literal definitions of soulmates. If there's other universes, I'm sure you're together in every single one."

"I second that," Scott nodded. In all honesty, everything he did was to impress the Captain since he had a huge admiration for him. Tony didn't mind it that much though, and neither did Hope. In fact, Tony even allowed Scott to make comments about Steve's ass, which Steve didn't like all that much, but it worked out in the end. 

"Well, he's just felt so distant lately," Steve muttered sadly, "I'm worried about him. The company's not helping, his father is an asshole, I just don't want him to get overwhelmed."

"Steve, stop," Sam said, "You look like a sad puppy."

Steve glared at his friend.

"You have every right to be worried," Bruce spoke up, "but I know Tony. He loves you a lot. He'll text me at two in the morning to tell me how much he loves his 'stupidly sweet, dorky, blond, great-ass, boyfriend'." He put in quotes, rolling his eyes playfully while grinning.

Steve's ears turned red at this as Sam and Bucky started to make an 'ooooh!' noise like the immature children they were. Despite the noises from the two, Steve felt a little better, letting a small smile slip. "Thanks," He said, looking at Bruce, "t-that helped ease the nerves a bit."

"Good, I'm glad," He nodded with a small grin, "Didn't want you to get all worked up before your big game. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you missed the winning hit because you thought Tony, Tony who has a whole album in his phone dedicated to pictures of you, didn't like you anymore." 

"Bruce is really wise." Sam nodded, realizing that yeah, that would be very embarrassing for not only Steve, but the entire team.

"You're just now realizing that?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow at Sam.

"All hail Bruce!" Wanda announced with a grin. Everyone joined in the hailing of Bruce. During it, Bruce smiled from his 'throne' of Thor's lap, telling them to keep it coming. 

Steve couldn't help but laugh and roll his eyes at his ridiculous friends. But they were right. It would take a lot more than distance to separate him and Tony. Plus, he had a game to win.

-The Next Day-

"You ready, Captain?" Bucky grinned as they were all getting ready in the locker rooms. "Have an inspirational speech for us today? Or can I do it again?" 

Steve rolled his eyes, pulling his jersey over his head, "I don't know how 'fuck shit up' is an inspirational speech, Buck..."

"Hey, it worked," He shrugged, popping his bubble gum, "we kicked ass that game. Maybe it should be out mantra or something, we'd win the season if that was the case."

"I'll think about it," Steve smirked, tucking his shirt into his baseball pants, "but that just means I'm letting you off easy with a 'no'." 

"If we lose, I'm blaming you," Bucky pouted. He then grinned and patted Steve's shoulder before going to bother Sam while he changed. 

Steve chuckled quietly and finished getting ready. He then gathered the team up and gave out his speech since he figured it was the last game and he was team captain.

"Alright guys, we've had a pretty good season," He started, standing on a bench to be seen by everyone, despite being rather tall already, "but it doesn't mean we shouldn't kick Hydra's ass today and win everything." He grinned as everyone cheered in agreement. "You guys have been a great group of teammates and friends," Steve started, "I really couldn't ask for a better group."

"Awww.." They all collectively said.

"Though, Sam could improve his attitude about practices." Steve teased his friend. Sam rolled his eyes and folded his arms,

"Hilarious..."

"I'm kidding, Sam," Steve laughed, "Alright!" He clapped his hands together and then sighed, "In the words of Bucky,"

His best friend perked up and grinned widely in anticipation.

"Let's fuck shit up."

Bucky cheered loudly, throwing a fist in the air, "Hell yeah! He actually said it! Thanks Stevie!"

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed, jumping off of the bench. He got hair ruffles, fist bumps, high fives, and playful punches from his teammates as they made their way to the field for a final warm up before the game.

"Hey, you going to be okay?" Steve asked Bucky, stopping him before they headed off to face Hydra. Bucky had transferred from the school after two years of being there, and let's just say that it wasn't a pleasant experience.

Bucky nodded, "Y-yeah. I'll be fine once we kick their asses." He punched his glove and grinned.

Steve grinned and nodded, "That's the spirit. Just tell me if you need to sit out or something."

"Sure thing, Cap." Bucky nodded, following Sam out to practice pitching.

"Captain!" Thor boomed, stopping Steve by grabbing his shoulder, "Banner wanted me to remind you not to worry so much about Stark!"

Steve smiled nervously, his heart slowly sinking. He nodded and swallowed, "Thanks, Thor. I-i'll be sure not to worry too much."

The big blond grinned and nodded, gripping Steve's shoulder before walking off with his head held high.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It had slipped his mind that Tony wouldn't be there, and now that he remembered, it was kinda just hanging around in the back of his head. But he was determined not to let it mess up his focus on the game. He could always talk to Tony later.

Yeah.

He could do that. 

He had a game to win.

Steve took a deep breath and headed outside of the locker room and headed towards the field. Everyone was already out, stretching or practicing for the game, and glaring over at the red and black-uniformed team on the other side of the field who were also warming up. He passed Bucky and Sam who were pitching and catching to each other, giving Bucky a reassuring look. 

He held up a hand to block out the late evening sun, trying to get a good look of the audience. He told himself that he wasn't doing it to try and find Tony in the crowd, that he was just trying to get a look at the audience to see who he was going to play in front of. And of course, he wasn't surprised to see that quite a few people were sitting in the stadium seats, from both schools. And it did make sense, since Hydra and Shield were school rivals, so of course there would be a huge audience. 

But he ignored the feeling in his guts when he wasn't able to find a certain pretty faced, brunette in the crowd.

"Looking for your boyfriend?" The annoying voice of Hydra player, Justin Hammer said, approaching Steve, "Man, that sucks. But he's got to run that stupid company of his, doesn't he?" He chuckled and shook his head. 

Steve glared at Justin, knowing his family's company was Tony's rivals. "Done warming up already, Hammer?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you're the same as last game, you better make sure you don't drop the ball every time you try to throw it."

Justin glared back at him, "Shut up Rogers. Let's see how good you play without the support of your boyfriend. We all already know you can't do much without your boytoy."

Steve had to will himself to not punch Justin in his stupid face right then and there. So he just clenched his jaw and punched his hand into his glove instead, "One more word about Tony," He warned, stepping closer, "and the field crew will have to rake you out of the dirt."

Justin took a small step back, Steve was two times bigger than him, "Fine, alright. Jeez." He rolled his eyes and muttered something before walking away back to his team. He stopped to whisper something to his teammate, Helmut Zemo, the two looking back at Steve before laughing and carrying on with their warm ups.

Steve fumed, but he turned away and started to warm up himself. 

Now they had to win.

It finally came time for the game. They stood up for the National Anthem, the announcer, who happened to be Rhodey, did his job of announcing the two teams and their players, and then it was game time. 

Hydra was up to bat while Shield was out on the field. Steve gave his team a last minute pep talk before giving everyone their positions on the field. 

"We missed you Barnes." Zemo chuckled as he stepped up to bat with Bucky pitching, "It's a shame you switched sides." He tapped the bat on the plate before bringing it up, getting ready to swing. 

"Man, shut up..." Sam muttered, in the catcher position. Bucky didn't say anything, he just tensed up and drew a breath, drawing back his metal arm and then hurling the ball towards Sam's catcher's mitt.

There was the crack of the bat as Zemo hit the ball, surprisingly, right towards Quill at third base. He caught it on the ground and quickly threw it towards Steve at first base. Of course, Steve caught it and it was the first out of the game. 

However, their success didn't last. 

Four innings in, Team Shield began to realize that they underestimated Team Hydra. Though they didn't have the most powerful hitters, like Shield did with Thor and Steve, they had one hell of a defense. 

"This isn't looking too good, Cap," Sam said as they entered the dugout, getting their gloves for the fifth inning. "Think maybe we should change something up? Positions? Batting line up? Something?"

Steve sighed, glancing at the scoreboard. It was currently 2-6. Shield only made two runs in the second inning, while Hydra had managed to score at least two runs in the last couple of innings. He wasn't sure what they could do. "I don't know what's going to work. Let's risk it one more inning and see what happens." He told Sam. His friend gave him a look, putting on his catcher's gear, but shrugged it off because Steve was team captain. 

They all went out to the field, determined to prevent Hydra from any runs this inning. However, after the third batter, they managed to make three more runs when their star, and only, hitter, Brock Rumlow, managed to hit a home run.

So now it was 2-9. 

'Well, at least Tony's not here to see us lose,' Steve thought to himself, watching as Pietro, shortstop, threw the ball at third basemen, Quill who tagged Hammer out, then threw it at second baseman Clint who tagged Ivan Vanko out. At the thought of Tony though, his heart sank because he knew had Tony been here, he'd feel supported. And when he felt supported, usually he played better. But he didn't want that, because it would mean that Hammer was right. And if Hammer was right, the world might just end right then and there.

With that, team Shield was now up to bat, with a lineup of Thor, Sam, Bucky, and Steve. However, before going out, Steve made sure to assure everyone that there still was a chance to turn everything around and come out on top. Despite his encouragement, most of his team seemed a little discouraged, but still, they came to play. So play they did.

Steve beamed, liking to think that his little speech about turning things around actually worked somewhat because Thor had managed to make it to second base and Bucky at first. He wished Sam luck as he stepped up to the plate, eyes narrowed at Hydra pitcher, Helmut Zemo. Steve held his breath as Zemo drew back and launched the ball towards Sam. There was a crack, and the ball made it's way past center field and into the outfield, allowing team Shield to load up the bases. 

Steve grinned and let out a sigh of relief, seeing all his team members make it safely to the bases, his other teammates in the dugout cheering. Now it was up to him to get them home, no pressure. He took a breath and grabbed his bat, running up to the plate. He tapped the bat on the plate twice before bringing it up, narrowing his eyes at Zemo. 

Zemo gave him a grin in return, one that had no warmth behind it, and drew back. He threw and Steve swung. But he missed. Strike one. 

Steve drew a breath and fixed his grip on his bat, doing his best to ignore his teammates that were waiting to take off from their bases. It was just one strike, so what? He'd get the next one.

Zemo drew back again, the same wicked grin on his face.

It caught Steve off guard and he flinched just enough that the ump called a second strike. Steve's ears turned red as he heard Rumlow behind him hum an amused, "Hammer was right." 

'No. Hammer was not right.' Steve thought to himself, focusing dead on Zemo after Rumblow threw the ball back to him. He couldn't see that his teammates were focused on him. He couldn't see the teammates in the dugout silently praying for a miracle. He couldn't see the smug grin of Justin Hammer. He couldn't see the distress of the Shield audience members. 

But what he did see, was the jumbotron flash in bright colors, making even Zemo stop and turn around in confusion. The scoreboard was no longer there, instead, flashing on the screen were the cheesy messages of,

"Go Shield go!"

"Hydra sucks!"

"Justin Hammer looks like a squirrel!"

"I believe in you Stevie!"

Steve grinned widely, a new sense of confidence building up in him. Of course, it was Tony. Of course, he would have planned something like this. How did he not see it coming? 

He did see the ball coming towards him though and he swung with all his might. He closed his eyes and hoped for the best, a loud crack echoing throughout the stadium as his bat made contact with the baseball. He slowly opened his eyes and watched the ball soar up into the air and out towards the right outfield where Justin was too busy being butthurt about the squirrel comment to notice the ball coming towards him. 

All four males took the opportunity and ran, as Hammer just missed the ball as it soared over his head and into the stands. It was a home run.

On the screened flashed the words, "That's my boyfriend!" as they ran their way to home base and then into the dugout to be greeted by cheering teammates. 

Steve looked up at the jumbotron and grinned widely at the proud statement, it staying on there for a while before changing back to the scoreboard which now read 6-9. He turned to his team and grinned, "What did I say? We could turn things around."

"So it was your fault we were loosing," Bucky said, throwing a glove at Steve, despite grinning widely, "you don't play well until Tony shows up."

"Well, he is a bit of a showoff," Clint started with a grin, "Can't blame him for holding off on his baseball skills until his boyfriend shows up. Honestly, it's kind of lame from a team point of view."

"Nonsense!" Thor exclaimed, beaming from their small victory, "If Captain Rogers wants to show off in front of Tony, let him! It's a normal thing to do."

"Not when a win is on the line," Pietro said, "But still..." He shrugged and grinned at Steve, "it's cute."

Now Steve was blushing and rolling his eyes at his teammates, and he pushed Clint out of the dugout so he could hit, telling them to make at least two more runs so that they could have a better chance of winning things. 

And while they stepped up to bat, Steve turned and tried to find Tony in the audience again. When he couldn't he gave up, but he didn't feel discouraged. Even if the whole jumbotron thing was done by him elsewhere from the stadium, Steve still appreciated it a lot. Which would be unexpected, had you only known Steve to be a shy, modest person. However, whenever it was something with Tony, those traits were really never the case. The two of them loved to show each other off to others, and they liked the attention of it too. 

With the end of the sixth inning, it was now 7-9. Pietro had managed to secure a run when he slid onto home plate before Vanko could throw the ball towards Rumlow. It was enough to give team Shield hope for a possible win over Hydra. Plus, if they didn't win, it was amusing to watch the other team yell at Hammer for his whoopsie with the home run hit in the dugout. So at least they had that. 

"Alright, team," Steve said, before they went out on the field, "we've got a chance to win this. We've just got to make sure they don't score anymore." 

The others seemed to be onboard with this, determined to beat Hydra, show them who was boss. They all grabbed their hats and gloves, heading out onto the field in their respected positions. 

Steve glanced back at the jumbotron with a dorky grin. It had gone back to normal at this point, showing the score and batting order for Hydra, but still, it made him feel giddy inside. The reminder of having to play the game hit him, and he turned to focus on Hydra's next batter, Killian. He watched as Clint, the new pitcher for the next half of the game, drew back, aiming for Sam's glove. He stepped forward the moment the ball left Clint's hand and shot towards Killian who swung, the bat making contact and sending the ball way towards left field. 

Scott managed to catch it and tossed it to Pietro who caught it and tossed it to Steve. Steve caught it, but not in time. Killian had already run through first base, a smug grin on his face as Steve threw the ball back to Clint. 

"Nice boyfriend you've got there Rogers," Killian chuckled under his breath, his focus on Rumlow as he prepared to bat. "I figured he'd one day pull a stunt like that. You know...After all the others stunts he's pulled in the past..."

Steve clenched his jaw, keeping his focus on Rumlow as well, doing his best to ignore Killian. Seriously, what was it with the Hydra teammates and attacking Tony? It took a lot for him not to trip Killian once Rumlow finally hit after one strike and two balls, both of them making it to the respected first and second bases. 

Great, Steve thought as Rumlow shot him a cocky grin. He rolled his eyes slightly and ignored the guy, getting ready to act fast. Thankfully, Clint was able to strike the next batter up, but it just meant that Rumlow was still on first base with him and Killian on second. They needed two more outs so that Hydra couldn't score. 

And luckily for them, they managed to get the last two outs. Bucky had caught the pop fly hit by Hammer and tossed it at Sam who tagged Killian out who got cocky trying to score a run instead of playing it safe on third base. The team exchanged a knowing grin as they headed into the dugout for their shot at the seventh inning. 

This meant that they only had this inning and two more to not only make sure Hydra didn't score any more points but to score some points that would put them ahead of Hydra's score. So Steve tried again at encouraging his team, giving them a few tips, congratulating them on their plays, and telling them how close they were to winning this. 

Thor patted Quill's shoulder as he got ready to step onto the base. Steve chuckled when Quill tensed at Thor's touch, knowing that Quill wasn't necessarily comfortable around Thor and Thor not being aware because he was, well, Thor. 

Steve held his breath from the dugout, watching as Quill was getting ready to hit. Next would be T'Challa, Scott and then they would restart their batting order with Thor first. Hopefully one of them could get a good hit. 

Apparently, he hoped enough, because the score was now no longer 7-9 but 10-9. Thanks to a great hit by T'Challa, Scott and Quill managed to score runs for the team. It came at the cost of T'Challa though, who was tagged out on first base, but they would score again when Bucky hit, letting Thor score a run after Sam had struck out. T'Challa, Scott, and Sam making three outs and finishing the seventh inning. But hey, they were ahead. 

Sure, it was by one run, but that was enough. 

They could win this.

"Ladies and gentlemen-" The amused voice of Tony Stark filled the stadium through the speakers, making everyone in the dugout look up in confusion as if God himself suddenly started to talk. And while, maybe, that was the case for Steve, a big grin on his face at the sound of Tony's voice. "-looks like Team Hydra isn't feeling too good. Sure, maybe it's just one run that they're behind, but from the earlier score, it's likely they've used up their expenses. I'm sure Hammer would know all about that." 

Steve laughed and shook his head as he heard some laughter coming from the stadium, along with boos and shouting from students of Hydra. Across the field in the other dugout, Hammer stepped out and started yelling up to the announcer booth, shaking his fist. The other teammates looking rather pissed while Steve's own teammates let out a few chuckles and grins. 

"Man, Stark is something else," Clint chuckled, shaking his head as he left the dugout and heading to the pitcher's mound.

Steve smiled softly at the jumbotron, "Yeah," he nodded, "he is." 

The rest of the team made their way out onto the field, now having a new sense of determination after Tony's comment and the fact that they were ahead. They were all set to keep it that way and not fall behind again.

And they didn't. 

With a side of occasional amusing comments from Tony between the last two innings, three great hits, five great plays, and one butterfingers Hammer, they managed to hold a score of 15-13 at the end of it. Which, in itself, was crazy to the team and Steve had to remind them to not get too cocky before they went for the inning. 

Luckily, the team kept their cool and refused to let Hydra pass them up. And even when Tony made a comment about Steve's ass in baseball pants (he was quickly taken off the speakers by who Steve could only guess was Rhodey), they played a great rest of the game.

And they won. 

The last inning, Hydra was looking to score as much as they could since they were first up to bat. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky and only got two runs, even with that the two teams were tied with a 13-13. Now all Shield had to do was score at least once. 

But scoring two runs worked too. 

"We did it!" Sam grinned once their turns at batting were over. The team all did a totally very professional like group tackle, them all taking Steve down first. Hydra glared at them from across the field, making it rather obvious that there was a lot of things the losers wanted to say but held back for the sake of the 'good game' code. Which, surprisingly even Bucky and Sam followed when it came to it. 

They were all laughing, ecstatic that they'd won the season, though it really wasn't much of a surprise. The first half had scared them, but with luck (and maybe a certain announcer) they managed to pull through. 

"Ha! And there you have it folks!" Tony's voice echoed across the stadium again, the audience in a mix of cheering and annoyance, "Congratulations team Shield, we all knew you could beat them, though you did scare us in the first couple of innings. Now, if you don't mind, I like my boyfriend the way he is so if all of you guys could kindly get off of him and not squish that pretty face of his, I'd greatly appreciate it! And that's all folks, thanks for coming to the game and good night!"

The team rolled their eyes at Tony's comments about Steve, but they did get off of him because they didn't want to mess with that. Meanwhile, Steve blushed a little but was grinning like the lovesick dork he was. So Tony did like him. That was good to know. 

As the cleanup crew came out into the field, everyone made their way to the lockers, the excitement and thrill slowly turning into exhaustion from the long, tiring game. 

Steve congratulated the team on their efforts, some excitement returning as they grinned from their success. They all headed out of the locker rooms together, knowing their friends would be waiting outside of the stadium for them. As they walked, Steve's heart beat in his chest and he couldn't contain his grin at the thought of seeing Tony. His Tony. Tony, who, apparently didn't dislike Steve who was worried that he did. 

Everyone's faces lit up when they came to their friends waiting for them outside the stadium, every one congratulating the team on their win and the team thanking them for their support. 

Speaking of support...

"Where's Tony?" Steve asked, letting the question in his head formulate into words as he looked out across his friends, noticing that Tony wasn't there. He frowned a little, thinking that maybe Tony never actually came to the game, that all of that was preplanned and prepared to make it seem like Tony was there. So did this mean Tony didn't like him after all? Or did it-

"Relax you golden retriever," The voice of Rhodey said from behind him, patting Steve's shoulder, making him sort of jump in surprise. 

"We had to clean up some things and he had to apologize for his comments so it took us some time to get here," Rhodey explained, letting go of Steve's shoulder to walk over to greet his girlfriend. When Rhodey stepped aside, in his place was Tony. 

Steve grinned and before he could say or do anything, Tony launched himself at Steve, wrapping his arms around the taller one's neck and laughing. Steve laughed a little himself and wrapped his arms around Tony, twirling him around once before setting him down.

"Good game, Captain," Tony purred, giving him a quick kiss, "I knew you guys would win."

Steve chuckled, "Yeah, we managed. Had a little help from an announcer. He really turned things around in the last couple of innings...Any idea who that was?" He teased with the slight raise of his eyebrow. Tony blinked and looked back at him sheepishly, looking everywhere that wasn't Steve,

"Hmm, well, I do have my theories..."

"I thought you weren't coming," Steve blurted out, not really caring that everyone was still around them and watching, "you had stuff to do..." He didn't mean to sound so hurt, but from the way Tony frowned and looked away, ashamed, Steve couldn't deny that he was pulling his kicked puppy face on Tony. 

"But it doesn't mean that I wasn't happy to see you!" He blurted out again, feeling a pang of guilt from the look Tony was giving him, as if Steve's words had hurt him somehow. "I-i mean, hear you, uh," He coughed and looked down at their feet, swaying with Tony, hands on his waist. "H-how, how did you manage to-?"

"Rhodey," Tony quickly said, looking down as well. "I-i, uh, I lied."

Steve looked up in confusion at Tony, "Lied?"

"About needing to do things," He clarified in a small voice, the kind that made Steve's stomach twist in shame for making Tony feel like such, "With the company a-and everything..Uh," He chuckled nervously and pulled away from Steve, stuffing his hands in his, no, wait. Steve noticed he was wearing another one of Steve's hoodies, the one with his baseball number on the back and Steve's last name. He blinked, face turning red. 

"I wanted to surprise you," Tony's voice pulled Steve out of his thoughts, "in some weird, cliche romantic way.." Tony scrunched up his face as the words slowly got quieter, "...as," he inhaled, "..an apology? For, ah, everything. Not being present a lot." He looked down and kicked the ground. "I-it was supposed to be all staged and whatever..." he waved his hand in the air, "Bruce knew, Rhodey knew...Rhodes helped with t-the, uh, whole announcing thing a-and..Yeah." he nodded, "...that..."

Steve's expression softened a little at Tony's words, and his heart beat in his chest. All of that was an apology? To him?

"So, uh, yeah, I didn't know how, um-" Tony scratched the back of his head, "t-to, uh, really-"

Steve pulled him into a hug, resting his head on top of Tony's. He sighed and smiled, rubbing circles into his back.

"Oh." Tony said as he slowly let his arms wrap around Steve's waist and then let his head fall onto Steve's shoulder. "Yeah. Okay.."

"Apology accepted." Steve said in a small voice, "But..." he pulled away to look at Tony, "I really should be the one apologizing to you. I-i became worried and stuff and I just started to jump to conclusions a-and..and make assumptions when I really should have taken to heart everything you've done for me."

Tony blinked, looking up at Steve.

There was silence before Tony drew a breath, pressing a quick kiss to Steve's lips before pulling away and grabbing Steve's hand, "We're both at fault. Because we're both idiots."

"Two halves of one idiot," Steve chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but you're my idiot and I'm your idiot." Tony hummed, walking him back over to where everyone else seemed to be.

"I can tell," Steve smirked, eyeing Tony's choice clothing. This made the other shiver and look away, his face turning beet red. "It looks nice." Steve chuckled, "Maybe we could add an apostrophe after the s on Rogers. Make it Rogers'. Then it'll be yours."

Tony's blush traveled to his ears and down his neck. He gave Steve's hand a squeeze and grinned up at him, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Steve grinned and the two reached their other friends. They both pretended to ignore the way some friends glanced at them holding hands and then smiled. Or how some avoided eye contact, making it very obvious that they had been watching from afar. Others just simply rolled their eyes playfully. Steve caught Bruce's amused looked behind his glasses that sing songed, "I told you so!~"

"Alright everyone," Tony announced, getting everyone's attention, "in celebration of the win, thanks to my beautiful boyfriend," He sighed dreamily for dramatic purposes as he looked at Steve with a wide smile, making Steve blush and their friends roll their eyes.

"Hey!" Scott shouted, "It was a team effort."

"Sure, sure," Tony nodded, turning back to the others.

Steve suppressed a smile, squeezing Tony's hand, "Tony..." he warned quietly, shaking his head as a delighted smirk slowly crept onto his face.

"Okay, fine," he huffed, "team effort, whatever. All that matters is that you won and you kicked Hammer's and Hydra's ass. Thank you for that."

"So, what are we getting out of this?" T'Challa asked, raising an eyebrow at Tony as he folded his arms.

"Party at my place baby!" Tony whooped, punching a fist in the air, "Everything already ready, everyone is invited. Now hurry up because I bet the pizza is getting cold and I have a boyfriend to shower with love and appreciation because I haven't been there for him lately."

"Make sure when you do that," Natasha said with an amused grin, "that you leave the doors locked and closed."

"Okay, Tasha isn't invited!" Tony said, sticking out his tongue and totally ignoring the fact that his face turned red and his voice went a bit higher than normal.

Steve chuckled and shook his head, "Don't be like that, doll." He kissed the side of Tony's head. "But, yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I also need to shower my amazing boyfriend with lots of love and appreciation."

"Sure, sure," Bucky nodded, taking Natasha's hand into his. "Whatever you say, Cap."

"Whoo! Party!" Sam grinned, high fiving Scott.

"Alright, I call picking the music!" Quill announced, earning some noises of protest from his groups of friends who were tired of 80s music.

"Well if there's food, then what are we waiting for?" Thor boomed, clasping Bruce on the shoulder, making the other blush slightly but grin.

"And I suppose, I'll have to keep you guys in check," Rhodey sighed, giving a knowing look to Carol who just returned the look with a suppressed grin.

"Eh, shouldn't be too bad." Clint said, smirking at Tony, "we deserve it after all."

"Okay, then what are we waiting for?" Tony asked, grinning at all his friends. From Steve holding his hand to the excited chattering of all his friends, he couldn't help but grin, a warm feeling spreading throughout his body.

"Let's go." Steve finished, walking Tony over to his car and the others started to do the same.

"I'm surprised they still have all this energy. Thought they'd be tired after such a long game." Tony chuckled, getting buckled into the passenger seat.

"You'd be surprised." Steve laughed, turning on the car. He felt Tony's eyes on him, so he turned, smiling still. Tony grinned back, and Steve felt his heartbeat up at the sight. He'd forgotten how beautiful Tony looked when he was smiling.

Tony reached over and kissed him lovingly, just long enough for Steve to kiss back with just about as much need.

Tony grinned and pulled away as Steve pulled out of the parking space. "Well, I'm glad you guys won. Would've been embarrassing if I showed up and you guys lost."

Steve scoffed, "Still would have considered it a win if you showed up, even if we lost." He glanced over at Tony, catching the quick shy smile and light blush.

"Thank you," Steve then said, "for coming. I really, really, really, appreciate it. And I really, really, really appreciate you."

Tony smiled, his elbow on the car door as he rested his head on it, "S' no problem Stevie. I had fun. I did. And I appreciate you too." There was a pause before Tony snorted and turned to look at Steve, "And I appreciate baseball pants because, oh man," he let out a breath, "you don't happen to still have them on do you..?"

"Tony..."

"Kidding!"

They headed over to Tony's place in a comfortable, almost silence. The two smiling, glad that their relationship wasn't falling apart at the seams like they thought it had been. No. They were happy. Happy and together. They didn't need words.

However, Tony wouldn't stop humming 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game'.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed that!
> 
> My brother plays baseball, and sometimes the games are entertaining to watch, so I thought, why not? 
> 
> And in highschool/college fics Steve is usually the football captain or something, and I can see that but baseball is an American sport. Captain America?
> 
> So I just see him as playing baseball.
> 
> Plus, baseball pants make people's asses look AMAZING so I'm sure Tony would appreciate that too.


End file.
